My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who’s Been Everywhere by Susan Orlean, Susan Orlean (Narrator), Karen White (Narrator)

This audiobook included essays narrated by the author and Karen White. At least three of the essays were ones I had already listened to in a previous Orlean anthology (the animal one). On the whole, I liked this collection better than The Orchid Thief but less the animal one and the Library Book. I still like Orlean’s writing and wanted to listen to this before reading her latest Joyride.

March 14-20, 2026.

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

As a big fan of the Emily Wilde series, I was looking forward to the author’s newest novel. This fantasy set in an alternate 1920s Montreal did have some cozy vibes. There were cats, magic, and baked goods. This novel felt heavily inspired by Howl’s Moving Castle (so was Wendell in Emily Wilde). I liked the world building as I like Montreal. It was cozy. I felt indifferent to the romance. I did not find myself interested in Havelock as a male lead. Read it more for the vibes.

March 15-20, 2026.

Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

What do I feel like I read Real Person Fiction (RPF)? Overall, this was fun with some caveats. It had some good moments mainly the premise, the time travelling characters (Graham, Maggie, Arthur), and funny dialogue. I think the book was held back by the intrigue plot in the last third and the narrator. Graham was a bit too perfect like Jamie from Outlander but this was silly RPF so why not. On the other hand, the nameless narrator was a too passive and even a tad dull in that I did not really feel I knew them. It was made worse by the fact that she was not named. This was gimmicky and made me even less interested in her. This made the romance unsatisfactory and unearned. I liked little bits and did not even mind the twist so no regrets really.

March 21-22, 2026.

Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton by Gabrielle Hamilton (Narrator)

DNF. This was recommended on Goodreads as a food memoir. I have been missing some good food writing and thought this 2001 memoir would fill the void. I listened to 25% which covered the author’s upbringing and family. There was not enough food and I found the pace rather slow so I gave up.

March 21-23, 2026.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Lesly Manville (Narrator)

This was a fun cozy murder mystery. A slow start mostly due to the audiobook narration. I switched to print after 28%. I liked the banter and the cast of characters. There were probably a couple too many red herrings but I liked the journey. It made me really miss the UK because it had so many little references and brands. It’s been awhile since I liked a contemporary mystery. The narration was fine but Joyce and Elizabeth sounded too similar especially for Joyce’s first person journal chapters.

I enjoyed the film adaptation as well. It had the right cozy look and great cast. I did not mind the changes. I look forward to the next book in the series and the sequel film.

March 4-11, 2026.

Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life, Lulu Miller with Lulu Miller (Narrator)

This was part biography and part memoir. It was difficult for me to be engaged for most of the book since I did not understand what the point was. There were a lot of twists and discussions about humanity. It was actually quite a philosophical book because it dealt with humans trying to understand the natural world. It showed the bad side of human beings and their incessant desire to classify, control, and fascistly destroy what it deems to be lesser. It was an uncomfortable listen but one that forced the reader to encounter a darker side of humans and their quest for knowledge and control.

March 9-13, 2026.

Nesting by Roisín O’Donnell

Another hard read. I should have read the synopsis of this book before reading it. It was on many Irish literature lists and it was in high demand at my library. The book was about domestic abuse and how difficult it was to be a victim of it while pregnant and with young children. This was a stressful. It captured the ongoing exploration of female centred stories coming out Ireland in the last ten years. The book was difficult content wise but it was extremely fast moving from writing point of view. There was a lot of dialogue and I was able to read it very quickly despite the topic. It was a good novel outside of my comfort zone of topics and well done. I would not recommend it easily though.

March 14, 2026.

What’s Cooking at 10 Garden Street?: Recipes for Kids from Around the World by Felicita Sala

Very cute picture book with recipes. Easy to read for my birthday.

March 15, 2026.

Lots of children’s books this month and this was a good reading month overall.

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The Apothecary Diaries (Manga), Volume 1 by Itsuki Nanao, Natsu Hyuuga with Touco Shino, Nekokurage (Illustrator), Julie Goniwich (Translator)

After the light novel left me wanting, the manga was more enjoyable. The storylines worked better in visual format and were more straightforward than the light novel. I would continue with the manga.

February 20, 2026.

The Mind’s Eye by Oliver Sacks with Oliver Sacks (Narrator), Richard Davidson (Narrator)

This was my first Sacks book. I had the hardcover but I forgot to look at it. I enjoyed the narration from Davidson and Sacks. I liked the mix of medical case studies and Sacks’s own memoir about losing his sight.

February 17-22, 2026.

La couverture by Marie Dorléans

French picture book about a boy and his blanket. Cute.

February 22, 2026.

Anne of the Library-On-The-Hill by Catherine Little

A picture book which has a little girl who meets Lucy Maud Montgomery. It was cute and very Canadian.

Feb 13, 2025.

Mustache Baby by Bridget Heos

This picture book was too young even for me. This was more for young toddlers and the art was fine. It was okay.

Feb 14, 2026.

Restaurant Kid: A Memoir of Family and Belonging by Rachel Phan (Narrator)

This was a Canada Reads pick. The narrator and I have similar backgrounds. I was frankly angry reading some of the things that happened to her growing up. It reminded me about moments that I wish I forgot including the racism, microaggressions, sexism and misogyny we both encountered. It was not a comfortable read. I appreciated any memoir where the author discussed their own family vulnerabilities and personal journey in depth. A good yet uncomfortable listen.

February 13-15, 2026.

Oishinbo: Japanese Cuisine: a la Carte (Oishinbo #1 ) by Tetsu Kariya

When I discovered this manga series in late 2024, I was excited to read a food manga especially after coming back from Japan. While the food techniques and food culture were good, the recurring main characters were annoying. I did not care about the ongoing feud between the protagonist and his father. They both knew a lot about Japanese cuisine so their rivalry showcased the topic. Since this manga was so long, the series were grouped in non chronological themes for this English translation. I was left feeling a tad bored and sometimes hungry. I do not think I will continue even if the food bits were interesting.

February 17, 2026.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare with all-cast production

It has been years since I read a Shakespeare play and I missed it. I read this while listening to a cast narration with Amanda Root and David Harewood. I will do that going forward with Shakespeare plays because it’s meant to be performed and heard. I really enjoyed it and this was a fun play even though a woman gets poisoned by her husband and then falls in love with an ass’s head. This was a standalone book from Modern Library and Royal Shakespeare Company so I read the additional text about production choices. It was mildly interesting. The whole thing reminded me how much I enjoyed reading Shakespeare in secondary school. I have a Much Ado About Nothing from the same little library and an audiobook so I hope to get to it later this year.

January 30-Feb 1, 2026.

Maple Syrup: A Short History of Canada’s Sweetest Obsession by Peter Kuitenbrouwer (Narrator)

I think I found this audiobook randomly on Libby when I was still in Japan. It was a great micro history of maple syrup. As a Canadian, I have bought a lot of maple syrup and gifted it to my international friends. I always keep some in my fridge. This was well researched and had the author’s personal experiences like all good histories nowadays. I enjoyed the author’s personal stories as I did the research. One of the best parts was the true crime chapter about the Quebec maple syrup heist. Fun nonfiction book.

January 31-Feb 3, 2026.

Vagabond by Tim Curry (Narrator)

I remember watching a lot Tim Curry movies growing up and his voice was always memorable. Since his 2012 stroke, he has not been able to act and his voice has changed. He had a difficult home life with a rather toxic mother and lost his father at a young age. I was actually more interested in his reflections about his family life than his acting career. I did like his dry humour throughout.

Feb 3-5, 2026.

Nowhere Girl: Life as a Member of ADHD’s Lost Generation by Carla Ciccone (Narrator)

I think I’ll stop listening to these ADHD memoirs. I sometimes get a little relatability such as this one since it was set in Canada, but it’s not enough for me to find sufficient value from them. I think the author had a lot of resiliency and strength. She was failed by the system even with her decent parents. It was a tough listen at times.

Feb 6-10, 2026.

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit

This was my first Nesbit and it was fun. It held up really well except one chapter about “Indians” and Indigenous stereotypes. Otherwise, an amusing children’s fantasy about five siblings finding a sand fairy who granted wishes. Hijinks ensued and each chapter was a separate wish or adventure. I think it took awhile to read because of my Bridgerton S4 part 1 obsession.

February 3-13, 2026.

Every Day I Read: 53 Ways to Get Closer to Books by Hwang Bo-Reum with Rosa Escoda (Narrator), Shanna Tan (Translator)

This was nice after the lacklustre travel reading earlier in the week. I really liked Hwang’s novel Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop and even bought a copy of it after I read it. This book is preaching to the choir of book lovers. It was essays about how to enjoy and improve your reading life, It was a comforting listen about something I love. Great job on translation and narration. Recommended if you need ideas to spice up your reading life or go out of your comfort zone. I do most of these tips naturally so I am glad to confirm my reading life is going well.

Audiobook January 22-23, 2026.

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo with Elizabeth Acevedo (Narrator)

Over the last couple of years, I have listened to a number of these young adult novel through verses. I have enjoyed all of them and this may be the best one yet. I was surprised how much I enjoyed the narration and the writing style. I had a lot of empathy to the protagonist even though we were so different. Excellent poetry.

Audiobook Jan 24-26, 2026.

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid, Tor Thom (Narrator)

I could not avoid the show on social media through December and January. I had watched most of eps 1-3 through reactions by the time I started the novel. I did listen to the audiobook for the first start and the narrator was not good especially with the accents of Shane’s parents. As this was a romance novel, I did not have high expectations for writing or the character writing. It was a fine. After I finished the novel, I immediately watched the show. I preferred it for most things especially Shane’s characterization which was underdeveloped in the novel. I could tell that the author preferred Ilya over Shane. The female characters on the show were also a lot better. Having said that, I would consider reading the other books in the series where Ilya and Shane are featured.

About 20% on audiobook. Read Kobo Libra 2 January 26-28, 2026.

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong with Charlie Anson (Narrator)

I like microbes. They are interesting. This was a well written and well narrated audiobook.

Audiobook January 28-31, 2026.

Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner with Juliet Stevenson (Narrator)

Due to some issues with my audiobook app of choice, I did not have the audiobooks I wanted to listen to on my return flight. I had to look on Libby and CloudLibrary for options. This was the first of two for the journey. I have been getting motion sickness on long haul flights so I took some anti-nausea medication. The night flight and the medication made me very sleepy so I do not remember much from this book. I only listened to it because Juliet Stevenson is my favourite audiobook narrator and very soothing. The first book was fine. I am not interested in a lot World War II era historical novels. I barely remember anything other than one romance and the triumph over misogynistic workplace storyline.

Jan 19, 2026.

Queen Charlotte by Shonda Rhimes and Julia Quinn with Natalie Simpson (Narrator)

This was the second audiobook as I knew a romance would easy for the flight. I was asleep for some of this but not as much as I wanted to. The best part was the friendship between Charlotte and Danbury. The torture was awful to read and over the top. I was honestly bored for most of it so I’m not reading Julia Quinn again. The TV mini series was better than the book and gave Lady Danbury more depth and an interesting romantic subplot that was not in the novel.

Jan 19, 2026.

Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy (The Murderbot Diaries #2.5) by Martha Wells

My second flight was delayed so I had time to finish QC and read this at an airport lounge. It only took a few mins. It was fine albeit a bit boring. I prefer it when it’s centred around Murderbot and it was not in this novel at all.

Read on Kobo Clara BW on January 19, 2026.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

I believe I started the first page of this in the airport lounge. I tried to read it more in the coming days but I did not really like it. It was too slow and I did not get a good sense of the characters. It was told in the fairytale style, but I still struggled to care about any of the characters or plot.

Read on Kobo Clara BW January 19-22, 2026.

As I am writing these reviews at the end of February, I am finding it difficult to remember the details. These were all the novels I finished in Japan in January.

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2026 Specific Goals

Read 40 for 40 – 40 books from my shelves. I have probably over 100 unread books. I need to read at least 40 of them in my 40th year.

Read five French books – I barely read/listened to three in 2025. Children’s books always count.

Reading Glasses Challenge 2026

The StoryGraph Genre Challenge 2026

Track daily pages and mins on The StoryGraph – I am trying this out and reading most days. I was not something who reads in bits, but I need to develop this habit now since I am so busy during the week. I may not be able to keep this up for most of the year.

Ongoing Annual Challenges

Read 80 books

Read more books from my shelves – See 40 for 40 above.

Read three books from Boxall lists – Should be easy with all the Boxall books I know.

Read French books – See above for five books.

Read one Shakespeare play – Completed as of this writing and on track to read another too.

Keep physical library books at less than 10 books at any time – Well this is difficult, but I still do need the library for my children’s and graphic books.

Read more classics – Same as Boxall really.

Write reviews soon after reading them – I have been reading and listening to so many books that it is taking much longer until I can do a review. Partly, I am avoiding the computer if I am not working especially on weekends. It’s probably more laziness.

GoodReads Challenges – I do these to supplement my other goals and to get recommendations on newer releases.

Paused Goals

Read more ebooks and audiobooks – I need to get books out of my home. I listened to a lot of audiobooks last year and the listening mins have already eclipsed pages. I am trying to focus on my owned print books.

Review of my 2025 reading goals and any themes or thoughts from my reading.

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